My Sunday school class is doing a series on the book of Exodus. As we follow the story of the life of Moses, I’m continually struck by the ways in which God showed Himself to be supreme over other gods, specifically the gods of the Egyptians. We serve a truly powerful God. As John 1:3 says,

Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made.

Through Him everything in both the physical and spiritual realm has being.

The Footstool

Nature is truly awesome (in the older, non-anemic meaning of the word). It’s easy to see why we sinful humans turn to forces of creation as gods when we are fleeing the one True God. Wind rips things apart, water rages in torrents, earth falls and crushes, and fire consumes and burns. We both fear and love the world in which we live.

Romans 1:22-13 – “Although [men] claimed to be wise, they became fools and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images made to look like mortal man and birds and animals and reptiles.”

In a more literal sense, men stopped worshipping the true and glorious god and started worshipping a copy (the graven images) of a copy (the things of this creation, i.e. “mortal man and birds and animals and reptiles”) of a copy (the shadow of the glory of God in creation). We ignored the divine Creator who ruled (and rules) over it all. He makes both the tsunamis that devastate and the beautiful flowers and sunshine that please. He controls all of it and uses it for the ultimate good of those whom He loves

The Throne

The story of the ten plagues that God sent on Egypt is probably familiar to all of us. Various lessons can be gleaned from it about different things. But the thing that stands out most to me is how God used it to show his superiority over the Egyptian pantheon. The plagues were chosen to destroy any illusion of power that the false gods presented. Each directly defied a specific god. For example, the ninth plague (three days of absolute darkness) directly defied the power of the sun god (called either Ra/Re or Amun-ra/Amun-re).

In defying their authority God showed His power to be superior. He denied the magicians the power to replicate his miracles on several occasions, displaying his sovereignty over even the power of the demons masquerading as gods. Demonic forces have power, but it is God that grants them power to wield it. Job chapter one recounts an interchange between Satan and God where Satan is trying to get permission to torment Job. As much as the Deceiver would have loved to have his way with the man, he was not able to as long as God was restraining him. My mom likes to call this (I’m not sure if it’s original or not) God keeping Satan “on a short leash.” As dark as things may seem or as great as the power of the demonic may appear, we can know that God is greater and has complete power over the spiritual realm.

Conclusion

The heavenly realms are His throne and the earth is his footstool. He is so great that He fills our sense of reality and overflows like choice wine from a large goblet. We cannot fathom him, yet he deigns to call us His children. He reveals Himself to us in part now, but we shall see Him as He truly is one day. Let us pray that day will be soon…